The Circadian Rhythm Diet

The Circadian Rhythm Diet entails eating certain types of foods at specific times of day, in order to nourish the physiological processes that occur daily within the 24 hour rhythm. Feeding these processes helps us to feel our best throughout the day and sleep solidly throughout the night.

Upon waking:

Drink 16-32 ounces of warm or room-temperature water as soon as you awaken. After all the hours of sleeping, you wake extremely dehydrated. Drinking a large quantity of water upon waking helps you to hydrate, which increases your energy and decreases your inflammation. This makes getting up and getting moving much easier. You may add lemon to this water, to help awaken the liver. Wait at least 20 minutes before having breakfast. 

Breakfast:

Eat a protein-rich breakfast within 1 hour of waking, before drinking caffeine. Have vegetables in abundance throughout the day, and at every meal. Avoid sugars and simple/refined carbohydrates with breakfast. This is not the best time of day to have calcium, so yogurt in the morning is not ideal. After finishing ½ your breakfast (or upon completion of your breakfast), feel free to drink your caffeine, although the morning is NOT the best time for the body to process caffeine.

Mid-Morning Snack:

Focus on vegetables and protein

Lunch:

Choose a protein-rich lunch, emphasizing vegetables, and no sugar. Complex carbohydrates and whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, and amaranth may be included, but limited.

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

This is the best time of day to eat fruit or sweets. Fruits are best eaten alone, not combined with other foods. This is also the best time of day for the body to process caffeine. Tea time and dessert before dinner hold true. 

Dinner:

This meal is best composed of light protein, abundant vegetables, and heavy complex carbohydrates such as yams, sweet potatoes, and whole grains. The carbohydrates at night help with sleep, as well as metabolism and blood sugar control. Alcohol (if consumed) is best processed with dinner.

“Dessert:”

Dessert is best processed before dinner. During this after dinner snack time, our bodies are best able to assimilate calcium and magnesium. If you are able to process dairy- cow, goat or sheep milk/cheese, this is the best time of day to eat it. If dairy isn’t your best friend, other forms of Calcium include greens and fish- of course, these can be consumed with dinner. This is also the best time to take Calcium and Magnesium supplements. Magnesium relaxes smooth muscles, while Calcium helps with sleep and aides in dreaming.

Just a note on Drinking Fluids:

It is important to drink the bulk of our fluids away from food. Drinking too many fluids while eating dilutes the digestive juices, and this prevents us from being able to fully absorb nutrients from our food. Optimally, we want to do most of our drinking of water and other fluids away from eating, and away from bedtime. However, it is helpful to have a glass of water on your night stand, so you can drink water if you awaken in the night.